Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6 Serum Review

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Medik8 are a British brand that were set up after the founder Elliot Isaacs developed an anti-redness serum for his sister, after nothing else on the market worked for her. Isaacs believes in science driven skincare that gives results. This is where Medik8's anti-aging philosophy comes in "Vitamin C plus sunscreen by day, and Vitamin A by night" or CSA for short. Medik8 believe that by sticking to their simple CSA regime, you will protect your skin in the best possible way, meaning that your skin will look younger for longer. The practice of CSA is now widely known and scientifically backed up.

So when Medik8 contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their products that fit into the CSA routine, I of course said yes please! I received C-Tetra Vitamin C serum, Advanced Day Total Protect SPF 30 moisturiser and Crystal Retinal 6 serum. Now I've not opened the Vitamin C serum yet as I've got others that need to be used up first but I've been regularly using the SPF and the Retinal serum.

Medik8 are at the forefront of Vitamin A research and discoveries. We all know Vitamin A is the gold standard ingredient for anti-aging! It helps reduce wrinkles and keeps skin looking smooth. Crystal Retinal 6 is one of their latest innovations. Retinal is a powerful version of Vitamin A, it's able to produce the same results as Retinol but up to 11 times faster. It's not only quicker but it's also not as much of an irritant so it's more gentle on you skin, meaning less chance of peeling and sensitivity. Aside from the Retinal is also contains Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and Glycerin to hydrate skin and leave it looking youthful and plump. It also boosts Collagen production. Sounds amazing, right?! The serum itself is housed in a air-tight tube with a pump dispenser, ensuring that the serum stays fresh. It's a light, cream consistency which is hydrating and quickly absorbed. It smells lovely too, vanilla and Tonka bean. The serum has worked brilliantly with all products I've used alongside it. There's been no pilling issues as all.

As I'm in my early 30's, when fine lines and wrinkles usually start to appear, it's the perfect time for me to be using Vitamin A products. As I also suffer with acne, it's a perfect product for me to use. Vitamin A helps the skin cells turn over quicker which in turn stops pores getting blocked, which in turn causes spots. Now I'm fairly lucky in that I don't have many lines and wrinkles at the moment. My main problem areas are my frown lines I between my eyebrows (apparently I frown a lot without realising) and lines on my forehead (I have expressive eyebrows lol). Since using this serum the lines in these areas have definitely been reduced, which is always a good sign! When my acne has flared up, I've used this serum to help get rid of the spots quicker and to reduce scarring. It's worked really well this way. I've also had no irritation or peeling when using it, so I've been able to use it regularly.

In summary I've been really impressed with this serum and will definitely purchase it in the future. You can buy Crystal Retinal 6 serum for £59 (or sometimes less if it's on offer!) from Skin City HERE.  They also sell a number of other Vitamin A products including Crystal Retinal 1, 3 and 10 which is a weaker and stronger versions of this serum. It great to have a range of strengths depending on your needs and tolerance!

Green Keratin GK11 Seriously Ageless Serum and Cream

 Green Keratin kindly sent me their latest power couple to try. I'm of course talking about GK11 Seriously Ageless Serum and Face Cream, so called in celebration of Green Keratin turning 11!

So what makes this pair so special? The long list of amazing ingredients of course! So what do they contain?

First up is the serum:

• Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate skin,
• Acerola which is an antioxidant packed superfruit,
• Lingonberry to boost hydration and anti-aging benefits,
• Matrixyl 3000 the famed Peptide mix,
• Ecosilk to soften skin,
• Aloe Vera to moisturise and calm skin.

Sounds amazing, right?! Well what about the cream? It's a blend of 11 actives including:

• Matrixyl 3000,
• Hyaluronic Acid,
• Vitamin B3 aka Niacinamide and Vitamin E to balance sebum production,
• Camellia oil an antioxidant,
• Avocado oil which is great to help regenerate skin,
• Mango butter which is packed full of essential fatty acids,
• Rose Geranium to hydrate,  
• May chang which gives the cream its gorgeous fresh lemony scent. This is great for oily skin due to its antiseptic properties,
• Jasmine extracts to hydrate.

What a combination! Both the serum and cream work together to reduce wrinkles, hydrate skin and leave it feeling firm. 

So what do I think of them? As I've mentioned that both have a stunning lemony rose scent, it's delicate though so not overpowering. The serum is a thick milky consistency that visibly hydrates and plumps skin when used. It absorbs so easily and leaves no residue or stickiness. The cream is quite thick and rich but remains non-greasy which is a huge plus for me. My oily combo skin doesn't get on with heavy creams too well but it loves this! Again skin is left looking and feeling great after application. This lasts throughout the day too, which is always a bonus! As always from Green Keratin,  they are organic and cruelty free.

Both of these are available from Green Keratin's website which I've linked (just a hyperlink, not affiliated). The serum costs £21.95 and the cream £29.95 which means you can grab the pair for what you'd probably pay for a cream alone! Bargain. 

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Clockface Beauty Review

Clockface Beauty are a Yorkshire based skincare company, run by a mother and daughter team. They have an all natural philosophy which applies to all their products. The products are made with 100% natural ingredients, that are also organic, vegan and cruelty free. The brand is based around the importance of having "me time". In a world that's often fast paced and hectic, they want their products to help you relax and unwind, whilst also being effective. That's an ethos I can get behind! For me the self care aspect of my skincare routines is so important. I'm always attracted to products that give me the full pamper experience, I like them to feel and smell nice as well as be effective. This is where Clockface Beauty excel!

I was kindly sent two of their products to try out, the Facial Serum and the Green Clay and Rosewood face mask.

The Facial serum (30ml for £44) is an oil serum that's suitable for all skin types and is packed with amazing ingredients to keep skin looking youthful. The serum is designed to soften and hydrate skin, keep it balanced therefore controlling oil and will even help eczema!

So what does it contain? A blend of 9 essential oils carefully chosen for their healing properties and amazing fragrance, four types of oil (argon, jojoba, grapeseed and avocado) and Vitamin E. On top of that it includes a blend of essential fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins which all work together to firm skin and protect it from damage.

So what's it like to use? A pleasure! It's what I'd describe as a mid-weight oil - not too heavy but not light either. 2-3 drops are more than enough to cover my face and neck. You're straight away hit with the heady luxurious scent of the essential oils, which I find instantly relaxing. I find the scent very similar to Mauli Supreme Skin Face Serum, which I adore! The oil absorbs into skin quickly and doesn't leave it feeling heavy or greasy. Skin is left looking instantly hydrated and feeling supple. Now I've not been using this long enough to comment on the long term effects but I would expect them to be positive seeing as my skin has reacted well to it so far.

The Green Clay and Rosewood mask - (60ml for £24) is a clay mask containing essential oils, vitamins and antioxidants that is designed to balance skin and reduce inflammation as well as providing anti-aging benefits. Now the texture of this mask is AMAZING!!! It's light, almost mousse like and is a dream to apply. I've found it applies easier using my fingers rather than a foundation brush that I usually use for masks. It's so silky and smooth, very unique. Scent wise it's fresh almost menthol. You only need to leave it on for 10 minutes at most. One of the things I love about this mask is that it doesn't dry down so it's not going to dry your skin out. It washes off easily. After using, my skin looks clarified and hydrated. As you can tell, I've enjoyed using these products! If you're looking for a natural skincare brand, take a look at Clockface Beauty!

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October Empties

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Use of the affiliate links is hugely appreciated and is a great way to support my blog. I love knowing my review's are being put to good use!*

October has been and gone, so here's a quick run down of the products I finished / got rid of this month. To pinch the description from Caroline Hirons - these are my empties and meh products.

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel* - I've used a fair few of these now and absolutely love them! I like to save them for when I go away as they're so convenient for travel.

Clarks Botanicals Retinol Rescue Overnight Cream - I adore this cream and have used a few samples of it now. It's a safe bet to take with me when travelling. I'll definitely buy a pot of it at some point.

Clarks Botanicals Soothing Marine Cream - This is the first time I've tried this cream. It's nice enough but compared to the Overnight Retinol cream, it left me feeling a little flat! Not that it's bad but it just didn't wow me. 

Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior Eye Serum - First time I've tried this, I love the face serum so had high hopes for this. It definitely lived up to my expectations! Is a great gel texture, easily absorbed and worked well for both AM and PM use. 

REN Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Salt Anti-Fatigue Exfoliating Body Scrub* - This is a lovely body scrub but I have a bit of a love / hate relationship with it. It's a lovely fine scrub encased in a balm. You apply to skin prior to getting in the bath or shower. I found this really messy - it gets everywhere! I ended up standing in the bath before putting the shower on, so if any bits fell off, it didn't go all over my bathroom. I found you need quite a lot of product to cover your body so it's not the best value for money. It's got an invigorating, fresh scent. Once you get in the shower, you rub the scrub into skin then rinse. The balm emulsifies really well and leaves skin feeling super soft, which I loved. As for the anti-fatigue benefits - I didn't notice any effects to be honest. I wouldn't buy this again. 

Omorovicza Moor Cream cleanser* - I hate to say it but for me, this doesn't live up to the hype. I had such high expectations of this after hearing so many glowing reviews but I just found it to be a bit meh. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice cleanser but I wouldn't buy it out of choice. I used it for a second or morning cleanse. It was nice and invigorating due to it's mentholly scent. It left skin feeling soft too.

Skinceuticals C E Ferulic serum* - gifted by brand. I've already done a detailed review for this serum (click here to read it) but I want to continue from that now I've finished the bottle. I think this is a brilliant Vitamin C serum that works well at brightening my skin tone. It works well with everything, there's never any pilling issues. Now it does darken in colour over time but the brand assured me it's the natural ingredients not oxidisation and that the serum is still effective for 6 months. I used this most days and it lasted 5 months. Now the million pound question, will I buy it again? At the moment the answer is no. The only reason why is that I haven't tried any other Vitamin C serums to compare it to! So as much as I love this one, I could potentially find one that works just as well for much less money. And as this is very expensive (a whopping £135 a bottle!!) I owe it to my bank balance to at least try some of the cheaper alternative out there. If they don't compare, then I'll certainly buy this again!

Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define Concealer (shade C3) - I've loved this cheap and cheerful concealer! For the price, a whole £4, it's a steal. It's thick and creamy and blends well. It does a great job at covering my dark circles. I did seem to go through it quickly though, as it only contains 3.4g of product but for the price, I can't grumble. I've not re-bought yet as I'm trying out the newest Makeup Revolution Fast Base concealer instead (also great for the price) but I'll certainly buy again in the future.

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%* - I think there was a bit left in this but it's going all the same. This was definitely a meh product. I loved the effects of it but it's such a difficult product to use! It really doesn't play well with others which is a big no no for me. It often pilled which drives me mad! So I won't be re-buying this.

Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion* - again another Meh product for me. It was nice enough but not really for my skin type. It was just a bit boring to be honest! I think it would be brilliant though for those with dry skin.

Veneffect Micro-Exfoliant - I absolutely love this cleanser! I got this tube in my birthday gift from Space NK back in May but only just got round to using it when I got another one in the latest Space NK GWP. I wish I'd used it sooner! It's a very fine physical exfoliator as well as containing willow bark which performs similar to Salicylic acid. Despite this I find it pretty gentle on my skin. It's a perfect AM cleanse for me. The lovey @the.wrinkle.phobic sent me her tube too as she knows how much I love it and it doesn't work for her! How kind, right?!If you're not following her already, check out her stunning Instagram. So now I've got a couple of tubes to go at - YAY!!

Odacite Baobab-Sarsaparilla Serum Concentrate for eyes - This is a gorgeous, rich, thick oil. You only need one drop to easily cover both eye areas so this little vial lasted quite a while! I found it very effective at hydrating my under eye area. I wouldn't buy full sized just because I prefer an eye product that targets my dark circles. 

Soaper Duper Shea Butter body wash - OMG this body wash is just amazing!! Honestly the nicest I've ever used! It's super rich and creamy, it lathers up really well. It smells to die for - almost like white chocolate. It leaves skin really soft and nourished afterwards. I'll definitely be buying a full sized bottle of this once I've used some other shower gels in my stash up!

Rodial Super Acids X-treme Acid Rush Peel mask - This mask was pretty good. It's a thick clear gel with a lovely fruity scent. I left my skin nice and soft after use. I liked that it contains both Azelaic and Glycolic acid. I don't think I'd re-buy as it's not the cheapest and I prefer using an acid toner or serum instead.

Rodial Stem Cell Cleanser - again this was nice enough but not one I'd re-buy. It's a lovely thick cream that feels really nourishing. It does a good job at removing makeup and SPF. I found the scent to be overpowering although it was a pleasant floral fragrance. 

Verso Reviving Eye Mask* - These are gel masks that go under your eyes. They fit well and were lovely and cooling. I left them on for 20 mins as directed. They contain Retinol 8 and wow could you tell! Mu under eye area was visibly plumped after using these, it made such a difference! I got this in a Space NK GWP - they're normally £50 for 4 pairs. I'm not sure if I'd pay that to be honest as good as they were! I'd prefer to spend that money on a good under eye cream or a concealer! But if you are into eye masks - I definitely recommend these!

Drunk Elephant Protini sample - Out of the whole Drunk Elephant range, this was the one I was dying to try the most so I was super happy to see Space NK having it as part of their samples range to choose with your order. So long story short, I loved it! It's a gorgeous rich cream but not heavy. I'll definitely purchase it in the future, once I've got through some of my stash!

And that's your lot for this month! Spot any favourites or products you'd like to try?